Next month…Feb 14th…not just Valentine’s Day…it’s WHY day!

As the New Year kicks off, we look back past year(s) in our business/personal lives and consider change. One area many people look to change is their health and fitness. It might be an extra inch (or inches…) from the holidays, it might be long term habits to break, or it may just be a decision to push even harder to get in better shape!

There are two DANGERS to all of these: the danger if you don’t take action and the danger if you do take action. Sound confusing? Yep, and that’s why so many people fail. Next month, Feb 14th, is Valentine’s Day. You probably knew that. What you may not know is that Feb 14th is also the average point of FAILURE for people’s New Year’s resolutions regarding health and fitness. Just about 6 weeks into the year and the resolutions are already broken!

So what can we do about it to not be included in this “average” population who will fail by Valentine’s Day?

Here’s something few people know about me: I very nearly gave up. I’m not talking about a fitness goal; I mean gave up on my LIFE. After major personal, business and medical disasters in my life, I was ready to completely give up. Instead, somehow I fought back for my life. I overcame medical challenges. I built multiple businesses. I married an incredible woman. And, I now coach and consult with other business owners across the country to make huge gains in their businesses. After being told I would fail, told I couldn’t build other people’s businesses or my own, and even told I may not live…I ignored them and proved them wrong. It wasn’t because I was amazing, skilled or had some super power. It came down to just one simple thing. It’s the thing that makes the difference in any goal, resolution or project. Because in any resolution, any health and fitness goal, or any business goal…..there is a common elementà the challenge, obstacle or dead end you run into that could derail everything. If goals were easy, everyone would reach them. The reality is most fail. If you want to get past these obstacles, challenges, excuses and supposed dead-ends it just comes down to one thing. That one thing is your WHY. It really is that simple.

Think about it for a minute. Would you run into a burning building? Probably no. But, would you run in if your child, spouse or a loved one was in that building? Probably yes. So what’s the difference? It’s the WHY behind your decisions and actions. With the right WHY, people are capable of a lot more than they would ever believe. We have all read stories about a person lifting a car off someone, people who have saved lives in the line of duty, and about great people who overcame massive hardships in life. The difference maker in every case is their WHY. When you are so clear on WHY you are doing something, quitting/failing/giving up is simply not an option. Obstacles and excuses become just the next thing to go around or crush on your way to your goal.

So it comes down to this. Whatever your goal or resolution is: “Are you clear enough on your WHY and is it strong enough?” Will you be the quitter by Valentine’s Day? Or will you push past whatever obstacles/excuses are in the way? What matters to you? Do you look at weight loss or fitness as something you just kind of want to do, or do you look at it as a way to fulfill your promises to your family and be around to see future generations and care for the people you love? That’s a bit of a different mindset huh?

No matter what your goal, if there is enough pain of failure, you will find your WHY that is strong enough to push you through anything in the way! Instead of giving into excuses, you will find options or even enlist other coaches/mentors to lead you through. This is where success is found.